Compaction of loose material is desirable in many industries and for many different reasons. Generally the process includes some form of a confining volume into which the material is deposited with a subsequent mechanical means of decreasing that volume.
In a particular application, that of waste management, the confining volume may take the form of an elongate generally rectangular section container having a moveable urging structure at one end. Waste matter is introduced into the container following which hydraulic rams cause the urging structure to be moved along a part of the length of the container, driving the material into a compacted mass against a discharge gate. Once compacted, the mass may be ejected from the forward end of the container structure by a further movement of the rams, for example into a transport vehicle.
A feature of such compaction systems is the need for very long hydraulic rams. These then have to be of telescopic multi stage construction and of large diameter to ensure sufficient power towards the end of the compaction stroke, where the load tends to a maximum. These requirements in turn demand very large hydraulic power systems making compactors of this type very expensive and generally beyond the reach of small isolated communities.
Generally the discharge of the compacted material is into a transport vehicle for subsequent transfer to a waste disposal or recycling site at which point the material has to be removed from the transport vehicle.
One known method is that of hydraulically jacking the container portion of the vehicle to a sufficient angle to allow the material to be ejected under the force of gravity. Particularly at soft surface land-fill sites this entails a danger of the vehicle tipping over side-ways as its center of gravity is raised during the jacking process.
Another known method is by means of a so-called walking floor fitted to the vehicle in which a series of hydraulically articulated rails cover the floor of the vehicle. These are bulky, very complex, expensive and heavy devices with high wear rates and maintenance costs, adding significantly to the cost of waste management.
In general the conveying of solid material or objects into and out of a transport vehicle is generally a time consuming operation often involving piecemeal retrieval of one object at a time from its pre-loading position to a position in the transport vehicle. Particularly in the case of palletized materials, the usual method is by means of a fork-truck or similar equipment. This imposes limitations on the type of vehicle which can be used, generally requiring a vehicle with side-loading capability. This requires considerable adjacent space, which may be a scarce and expensive commodity at city loading docks for example.
It is an object of the present invention to address or ameliorate at least one of the above disadvantages.